Johnson applauds Garland’s International Truck and Engine for winning another big defense contract
Washington,
Jul 23, 2007 -
Today U.S.
Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist-Texas) congratulated Garland’s
International Truck and Engine for winning a second government contract in as
many months. Late Friday afternoon, International Truck and Engine was awarded
$414 million to build 755 armored trucks. This new defense contract comes just
barely two months after the company won a lucrative military vehicle contract to
build 1,200 trucks on May 31st.
“This
shows America’s strong commitment to our
troops and their safety. It’s imperative that our men and women in harms’ way
have the best equipment possible and the new trucks from Garland are top-notch,”
said Johnson.
The
additional tough and durable military vehicles will be used for convoy
operations. They greatly increase the survivability and the mobility of the
troops operating in a combat area against threats like small-arms fire,
rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The
contract will pay to build more specially designed MaxPro, short for Maximum
Protection, MRAP, short for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected,
vehicles.
The
chassis will be manufactured in Garland which boasts over 600 employees. This
contract is in addition to the 4,000+ military trucks International Truck has
already provided in the Global War Against Terrorism.
“This is
great news for Garland and great news for the troops,” cheered
Johnson. “I want to congratulate them for a job well done.” A 29-year Air
Force veteran, Johnson fought in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Johnson
represents portions of Dallas and Collin Counties.
